Promise of live telecast resolved disagreement over pro-tem speaker

NEW DELHI: All eyes might have been on Bengaluru on Saturday but the site of the drama over the Karnataka government formation in the morning was more than 2,000 kilometre away, in the Supreme Court in Delhi.

The top court was hearing a petition filed by the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) challenging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader KG Bopaiah’s appointment as pro tem speaker on the ground that he was not the senior-most legislator.

A bench comprising justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde and Ashok Bhushan told senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who is also a Congress leader, that it will have to listen to Bopaiah and the floor test scheduled in the assembly later in the day will have to be rescheduled. But the Congress and the JD(S) dropped their demand.

“Law can’t direct the governor to appoint a particular person as pro-tem speaker. Unless convention becomes legal norm, it can’t be enforced by Court,” said the Supreme Court.

This remark from the bench came, when Sibal questioned the suitability of Bopaiah as the pro tem speaker. The CongressJD(S) were objecting to Bopaiah as a pro tem speaker who would consider the floor test. They pointed to the court that there was a well established norm and convention that only the senior most member of the house is appointed.

“Look at the case of Sis ram Ola in the 14th Lok Sabha. Even though Sis ram Ola was the senior most member, VK patil was appointed as the pro tem speaker...” said justice SA Bobde.

Sensing that the bench was not inclined to be impressed, Sibal and other lawyers representing the Congress and JD (S) dropped their demand and said, “we just want to press that there should be videography of the proceedings”.

This demand was met by the additional solicitor general, Tushar Mehta saying, “the assembly is telecasting live the house proceedings during the floor test.”